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The ancient history of Pondicherry is associated with Saint
Agasthya, the revered sage of the south. Excavations near
Pondicherry have revealed the existence of a Roman
settlement some 2000 years ago. It was also the site of many
battles between the British, Dutch and French and was also
the capital of French India.
Puducherry (or Pondicherry) was a part of the Pallava
kingdom of Kanchipuram in the fourth century AD. During the
next few centuries Pondicherry was continued to be under the
control of several dynasties of the south. In the tenth
century A.D. the Cholas of Thanjavur ruled the region for
over 300 years |
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but later on it was replaced by the Pandya Kingdom. Till
1638, Pondicherry came under various rulers like the Muslim
rulers of the North; the Vijayanagar Empire and then the
Sultan of Bijapur came to rule over Gingee.
The 17th century marked the beginning of colonial era in
India. The French East India Company set up its trading
centre at Puducherry in 1673. This outpost eventually became
the chief French settlement in India.
Dutch and British trading companies also wanted trade with
India. Wars raged between these European countries and
spilled over into the Indian subcontinent. The Dutch
captured Pondicherry in 1693 but returned it to France by
the Treaty of Ryswick in 1699.
The French acquired Mahe in the 1720s, Yanam in 1731, and
Karaikal in 1738. During the Anglo-French wars (1742-1763),
Pondicherry changed hands frequently. On January 16, 1761,
the British captured Puducherry from the French, but the
Treaty of Paris (1763) returned the city to the French. It
was taken again by the British in 1793 amid the Wars of the
French Revolution, but once again returned to France in
1814. When the British gained control of the whole of India
in the late 1850s, they allowed the French to retain their
settlements in the country. Pondicherry, Mahe, Yanam,
Karaikal and Chandernagar remained a part of French India
until 1954.
But after India gained her independence in 1947, an
agreement between France and India in 1948 agreed to an
election in France's Indian possessions to choose their
political future. On 1st November 1954, Pondicherry was
transferred to India. A treaty of Cessation (together with
Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam) was signed on May 28, 1956. It
became a Union Territory to be administered by the President
of India in 1962 under the 14th Amendment of the Indian
Constitution.
Once a French colony, Pondicherry still today has a few
French families living there and French is an important
language. The French spirit can be observed in the very
layout of the township. The streets, buildings, ornamental
gardens, hotels and restaurants, everywhere the French
influence still persist prominently.
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